Army Research Laboratory's Open Campus Initiative

The Open Campus initiative is a collaborative endeavor, with the goal of building a science and technology ecosystem that will encourage groundbreaking advances in basic and applied science research areas of relevance to the Army. ARL scientists and engineers will be able to work side-by-side with visiting scientists in ARL's facilities, and as visiting researchers at collaborators' institutions.

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In order to foster the development of cutting-edge science and technology to further enhance the capabilities of our Soldiers on the battlefield, ARL is bringing together academia, industry, small business and government to address fundamental research opportunities through the Open Campus initiative.

The Open Campus initiative is a collaborative endeavor, with the goal of building a science and technology ecosystem that will encourage groundbreaking advances in basic and applied science research areas of relevance to the Army.

ARL will be physically opening designated portions of its Adelphi Laboratory Center in Maryland to academic and industry partners this year, with efforts expanding to the organization's Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. location in 2015.

The Army Research Laboratory is in the business of discovery, innovation and transition for the Soldier.

In order to foster the development of cutting-edge science and technology to further enhance the capabilities of our Soldiers on the battlefield, ARL is bringing together academia, industry, small business and government to address fundamental research opportunities through the Open Campus initiative.

The Open Campus initiative is a collaborative endeavor, with the goal of building a science and technology ecosystem that will encourage groundbreaking advances in basic and applied science research areas of relevance to the Army.

These areas include computational sciences, material sciences, information sciences, human sciences, sciences for maneuver, sciences for lethality and protection, and assessment and analysis.

According to Wendy Leonard, Open Campus program manager, "ARL is implementing an Open Campus initiative to foster better collaboration across industry, academia and government, attracting and leveraging the best and brightest across the collective research community to more effectively produce transformative science and technology."

Participation in ARL's Open Campus will provide ready access to unique facilities, specialized researchers and collaborative resources for all partners, including foreign nationals, but will not be used as an additional funding stream for our collaborators that would take resources from our core programs.

ARL scientists and engineers will be able to work side-by-side with visiting scientists in ARL's facilities, and as visiting researchers at collaborators' institutions.

"Opening up the laboratory will create an environment that permits access to our facilities by researchers from outside the laboratory, supports ARL researchers as they work in other laboratories, and that actively encourages the exchange of researchers, ideas and information," Leonard stated.

"It will also expand the use of specialized facilities on both sides of the partnerships," added Leonard.

These collaborations will build research networks, explore complex and singular problems, enable self-forming expertise-driven team building that will be well-positioned for competitive research opportunities, and expose scientists, engineers, professors and students to realistic research applications and perspectives, helping to ensure our nation's future strength and competitiveness in these critical fields.

"We expect insight into S&T challenges as a result of fresh ideas happening earlier in the research process," said Leonard.

ARL will be physically opening designated portions of its Adelphi Laboratory Center in Maryland to academic and industry partners this year, with efforts expanding to the organization's Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. location in 2015.

In doing so, ARL hopes to not only increase exposure to new ideas and new collaborators from international, academic and entrepreneur communities, but the organization hopes to increase public involvement, with enhanced understanding of the value of defense science, technology and exploration.